It never really occurred to me to vote early in the past, but in recent years, I've done it a number of times. Mostly I've done it out of convenience.
If you've got kids and if you transport them to and from school yourself, you know that a good routine must be followed. So for elections that I know will draw a big crowd, I've taken to voting early at lunch, rather than trying to cram it into the evening, which is pretty tightly scheduled.
At first I was like some folks I know who balk at early voting, thinking they'll miss the camaraderie of voting with the hoi polloi on Election Day.
Today, when I voted at the Zeidler Municipal Building Downtown I was reminded that, well-meaning as that attitude is, it's faulty.
There were way more people today lining the corridors waiting to vote, in the act of voting or affixing an "I Voted" sticker to their jackets than there would be at my neighborhood polling place at nearly any time of day next Tuesday.
Best of all, there seemed to be a festive atmosphere. All the poll workers I encountered were cheery and friendly. One older woman even held my arm to walk me to a polling booth rather than simply pointing the way and moving on.
So, while I didn't see my immediate neighbors at the polls today – as I might on Tuesday – I saw dozens of my Milwaukee neighbors – from all corners of the city – and we voted together like good neighbors do ... with a smile.
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
